The penultimate race of the 2019 Skyrunner UK & Ireland Series takes place this coming weekend with the inaugural SNOWDON SKYLINE.

Soaring ridges that includes the exposed arete of Crib Goch, Snowdon, Tryfan, Yr Wyddfa and the stunning majestic scenery of Wales makes this race a true highlight, especially when one considers that it is also the selection race for the SkyMasters that will take place in Lemone, Italy at the end of October.

The course starts and concludes at Hafod y Llan in the Gwynant Valley with a figure of 8 loop that crosses at Pen-y-Pass – a perfect spectator point as the race arrives here at mile 6 and once again at mile 15. This will allow you just enough time to race back to the finish and see the runners cross the line. At 36km with 3160m of vertical gain, Snowdon Skyline is going to be an epic race… Competitors have 12-hours to complete the route!

WOMEN

Sophie Grant, the 2018 Skyrunner UK & Ireland Champion will toe the line looking to gain maximum points and take her into the lead for the 2019 Series.

But Kasia Osipowicz will be looking to upset Sophie’s victory in the series so far, especially after her win in Ireland.

Sarah Ridgway, who knows this area like the back of her hand will be a hot contender for victory, especially as she holds the record for the Snowdon Horseshoe.

Lakeland 50 winner and GB athlete, Sally Fawcett will also race along with Elizabeth Richardson and Elizabeth Wheeler.

MEN

Damian Gielty heads up the men’s race after placing first at Scafell SkyRace and recently at Seven Sisters Skyline. If Damian wins in Wales he will have a maximum 300-points.

Jayson Cavill placed 2nd at Scafell, so, we know he can give Damian a race…. However, Jayson would need to compete at the last race of the series if he wants to compete for the UK & Ireland Series.

Liam Mills, Marcin Drozdziok, Mathew Fortes, Dan Murdoch and Javier Rodriguez from Spain will all push the front of the race.

Let’s not forget one or two surprises entrants who will no doubt shake things up!

Racing starts at 0800 on Sunday 15th September. Please also remember, there is a talk on the Saturday evening at 1800hrs with Beth Pascall and others. Beth is arguably the UK’s greatest ultra-runner after a string of consistent results. In 2019, she placed top-5 at the iconic Western States and UTMB. Tom Evans was billed to join the talk, however, he is currently injured and in rehab.

The third race in the Skyrunner UK & Ireland Series took place at the end of July, read the summary HERE.

Ireland and the Seven Sisters Skyline proved to a be a stunning race and a great addition to the 2019 calendar.

Three races down in the 2019 Skyrunner UK & Ireland Series and now the competition is hotting up at the front.

Kasia Osipowicz has completed 3/3 with 2 second places and now a victory. She leads the ranking with 260 points. Sophie Grant and Jo Stevenson each have 100 points and they rank joint second. We know that Sophie will race the final two races in the calendar, so, it will be a battle for the 2019 overall champion. It’s all to fight for!

Damien Gielty now has two victories from two participations and leads with 200 points. Jonny Steede has 6th place and 2nd place providing 128 points for second and third is Adam Quinn after placing 5th twice.

IMPORTANTLY – if you are ranked in the M top-20 / F top-10 and are in contention for the overall series, Skyrunning UK will facilitate your entries to Snowdon Skyline and the Mourne Skyline so that you have three races – please email using the form below.

*Please note, you must run three races at least to qualify for the series ranking. If for example you run all five races, the best 3 ranked races count.

The Skyrunner UK & Ireland 2019 Series moves to Ireland for the first time with the third race, the Seven Sisters Skyline.

Regarded as Ireland’s toughest marathon, the first edition took place in 2018. With 3700m of ascent with lots of soft ground, heathery bog, loose rock and scree, this is no easy challenge. With little or no tracks on the course, apart from North side of Muckish Mountain, and the higher part of Errigal Mountain the route is challenging with some technical sections.

An out and back course going from one peak to the next (13 in total). The current course record 5:59 set by Shaun Stewart and 7:42 for Gillian Wasson.

Excel Sports and race director, Eunan Quinn look forward to welcoming everyone to Ireland’s first Skyline event in Donegal. The race has competitors represented from 12 different countries, with many visiting Ireland for the first time.!

“We have some slight changes from last year,” says Quinn. “The event sees course is now 50km and packs a massive 4,000m of ascent. Spectacular open mountains, isolated, un-spoilt, and runners will see 40 shades of green along the way!”

Gillian Wasson will be back to defend her title from last year, but unfortunately Shaun Stewart is out with a broken collar bone. Kasia Osipowicz will race her third race of the series and will look to set a commanding lead in the National Series. In the men’s race Damien Gielty is entered and could see him take the overall lead in the men’s National series with 2 races remaining after this weekend.

Next race in the Skyrunner UK & Ireland Series is SNOWDON SKYLINE get your entries in now to ensure you have three qualifying races for the 2019 Series HERE.

Importantly, if you are currently ranked top-20 in the male category or top-10 in the female category, it may be possible to facilitate entry for the final race of the series in the Mournes – certain conditions will apply.

After two races in the 2019 Skyrunner UK & Ireland Series, it’s all to fight for and importantly, runners need to enter multiple races not only to accumulate points but rank for the 2019 National Series.

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Kasia is showing great consistency for the women with two races and two second places. That is 160 points! 2018 champion, Sophie Grant opened her 2019 campaign with a win at LSU and maximum points. Equally, Jo Stevenson has 10pts from Scafell, so, we have joint second place.

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For the men, currently, Andy Bryce and Damien Gielty lead the ranking with 100pts each. But the series is wide open with no man having run two races yet!

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Seven Sisters Skyline is the next race on the calendar and this is going to prove pivotal for the overall ranking!

Andy Bryce and Sophie Grant gave two dominant performances on the newly revised Lakes Sky Ultra 2019, the second race in the 2019 Skyrunning UK & Ireland Series. Starting and concluding in Patterdale, the duo covered the 60km route with over 5000m of vertical gain in 8:46:18 and 10:27:07.

The route encompasses the best of the north eastern Lakes with a circular route that encompasses Lakeland highlights that included Place Fell, Beda Fell, High Street, Thornthwaite Crag, Stoney Cove Pike, St Raven’s Edge, Red Screes, Dove Crag, Hart Crag, Fairfield, Dollywagon Pike, Nethermost Pike, Helvellyn with some of the most remote valleys in the area dropped in for good measure.

Starting at 0600 under cloudy skies, the heat and humidity of the day was masked, but it soon became apparent that it was going to be essential for all runners to keep on top of their hydration.

Andy Berry dictated the early pace up to place fell but all the main contenders were in close proximity and it was only when runners crossed Kirkstone Pass and started the climb of Red Screes that the main protagonists became apparent.

It was here that Andy Bryce showed that he was on a good day opening up a gap on the chasers of Philip Rutter, Andy Berry, Liam Mills, Marco Costelo and Simon Darmody.

For the women, Sophie Grant was already opening a huge gap over Kasia Osipowicz and make a dent on the overall top-10. Hanna Walsh running in 3rd was a long way back pacing herself for the tough challenges ahead.

Ambleside provided a major checkpoint for the long climb up to Fairfield, the decent to Grizedale Tarn and then the climb to Helvellyn and the technical descent down Swirral Edge.

The front of the race looked set with Bryce looking strong, but Rutter was moving quicker and one wondered would the final tough 20% of the race bring a change at the front? At the line, no! Bryce held on for victory beating Rutter 8:46:18 to 8:49:05. Berry ran a solid and consistent day having lead from the front with a 3rd place in 8:57:03.

Grant was head and shoulders above the competition and crossed the line for the women in 10:27:07 and placed 8th overall. Osipowicz placed 2nd in 11:06:40 and also made the top-20 overall. Third placed woman was Hanna Walsh in 13:43:55.

The 2019 Skyrunning Uk & Ireland National Series moves ahead at a pace in July with two races in close proximity, the Seven Sisters Skyline is precluded by this coming weekends LAKES SKY ULTRA.

New for 2019, Lake District Sky Trails bring us a revised event made up of 60km and a whopping 5000m of vertical gain for the second event in the UK & Ireland Series.

It’s a demanding race and one that requires competitors prove ability to take on a course that contains technical terrain and the infamous ‘Swirrals Edge!’

Starting and concluding in Patterdale, the route takes in a clockwise route of some of the Lakeland’s most iconic places that includes Winter Crag,passing Angle Tarn, Blea Water before crossing the road at Kirkstone Pass. From here, the route goes to Ambleside and then upwards towards Hart Crag, Grisedale Tarn and then Nethermost Pike before then concluding back in Patterdale.

“You’ll need a good head for heights and nerves of steel. Runners are going to traverse three of the most amazing ridge-lines in the Lake District,’ says Sproson. ‘Beda Fell, remote and sublime, the bone shaking and very wild ridge of Long Stile Edge and the very alpine and rocky scramble of Swirral Edge.’

We’re talking serious ascent with some distance thrown in and this race is a seriously tough challenge for all those who toe the line.

New for ’19’ is the ‘KoM Super Stages’ – It’s a race within a race, and the prizes will go to the runners who can dig the deepest in the final fight to the finish in Patterdale.

Racing starts at 0600 on Saturday July 13th and the cut-off time is 2100. First runners are expected back in Patterdale around 1400 hrs.

In the ladies race, Sophie Grant will be one to watch after excellent performances in 2018. For the men, Marcis Gubats, Andy Berry, Andy Bryce are three of the key names and the possibility of Brennan Townsend toeing the line.

It gives Skyrunning UK great pleasure to announce a new addition to the 2020 Skyrunner UK & Ireland Series with a new event in Ireland – The Gaelforce Sky Run.

The Gaelforce team are no strangers to adventure and are brilliant ambassadors for the outdoor and adventure sports in Ireland since 2006.

The Gaelforce Sky Run will take place in Connemara, County Galway in March 2020 bringing a well needed early start to the UK & Ireland calendar. It is the perfect time of year to focus yourself for the year ahead. The after race experience in Ireland is unique, with traditional pints of Guinness in the local pub an essential part of the recovery!

This 22km course takes runners up the western sections of the iconic Maumturk Mountain Range. This is the Wild Atlantic Way in all its glory – wild and untamed mountains with virtually no trails and sweeping views of the coastline. It is a looped course, so no covering old ground. There are many testing climbs. Ever heard of the Col of despondency? You will get first-hand experience of this col and some fast descents down the valley as well as the final and most notable climb towards your final destination.

The land is working farmland, typical of the area, and access to these hill sheep farms is specially granted for this event. The rocky, boggy and varying terrain will test the most experienced racers.

Expect: 22km of challenging terrain with steep ascents and descents

Prepare: For rapidly changing weather patterns pushing in from the Atlantic Ocean

The event first took place in 2015 and has grown in popularity over the years seeing more and more people graduate into mountain running. This race is attracting competitors from all over Europe with some high profile racers adding this race to their calendars. Team Salomon athlete Thibaut Baronian won the event in 2018 (second in Zegama -Alzkori this year to none other than Kilian Jornet).

Bridget Gavin from Gaelfocrce commented, “Gaelforce are delighted to be part of the Skyrunner UK & Ireland Series and hope that it will highlight this style of running to more Irish runners as well as showcasing Ireland as a destination for mountain running.”

The prizes for the winners include cash prizes and unique bog oak trophies, crafted locally. All participants receive a finishers medal and the Gaelforce team pride themselves on a warm west of Ireland welcome to their home ground. Route creator Shane Young, an avid mountain runner, says “I have spent my life running up and down these mountains and truly believe that these mountains were not just put here to be admired from below. So, if someone ask why, the only real answer is why not”

For anyone who has never been to this part of the world before then you are in for a real treat as this part of Ireland is stunning and the mountains abundant.

It is also easily accessible from the UK with Ireland West airport 1 hour and 20 mins away. There are flights from many UK cities into this airport weekly.

The start/finish of the race is located at the Killary Adventure Centre on the shores of Killary Fjord. They have special accommodation deals on offer for anyone who wishes to stay in this spectacular area. Further accommodation options in the area can be found on the website.

Testimonials

“It’s 95% open mountains with steep slopes and super muddy sections you can really enjoy if it’s on your ass or just staying on your feet and letting go… “– Juju Jay from Mud Sweat and Runners

“I think this is the gem in all the events in the calendar – just you and the elements and a few other mad people who love running / plodding in the hills in the wind and the rain – even had the delights of snow on the route – no trails or tracks just nature in front of you… Easy registration, timings the minute you come over the line and the ever good Killary soup at the end. Thanks for organising!” – Sheila Kilduff Mountain Runner